# How to Fix a Printer Not Printing in Windows 11

URL: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-printer-not-printing-windows-11/
Published: 2026-07-28 | Author: Ankit Kumar
Tags: Windows 11, Peripherals, Printer, Drivers, Fix
Summary: Jobs stuck in the queue, blank pages, or nothing happening at all? Clear the print spooler, reinstall the driver, and fix a Windows 11 printer that will not print.
Recommended app: PC-Troubleshooter — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/windows-troubleshooter/ (Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N7RWKW8SP24?hl=en-us&cid=mytechnician-web). Optional; every step below uses built-in Windows tools.

## The Problem
A printer that shows as ready but produces nothing is almost always a **print spooler** problem: the queue has a stuck job at the front, and everything behind it waits forever. The next most common cause is the driver — Windows Update installs a generic class driver that handles basic printing but fails on specific models or duplex and colour options.

Blank pages are a different fault entirely: those are hardware — dried ink, a protective strip left on a cartridge, or a clogged printhead.

> **Printer showing as offline rather than silently failing?** Start with [fix a printer showing offline](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-printer-offline-windows-11/). **Scanning broken on an all-in-one too?** See [fix a scanner not working](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-scanner-not-working-windows-11/).

## Symptoms
* Jobs pile up in the queue with status **Error**, **Deleting**, or **Printing** forever.
* The printer says ready, but nothing arrives.
* Pages come out blank or half-printed.
* Printing worked before a Windows update and stopped afterwards.
* **"Printer driver is unavailable"** in Devices and Printers.

## Step 1: Check the Printer Before the PC
1. Confirm there is paper, no jam, and every cover is closed.
2. Read the printer's own display — most fail silently on the PC while showing a clear message on the panel.
3. Print a **self-test page from the printer's own menu**, without the PC involved. If that fails, the problem is the printer, not Windows.
4. Power-cycle it properly: turn it off, **unplug the power for 60 seconds**, plug it in and turn it on. This clears the printer's internal queue, which Windows cannot reach.
5. Check the USB cable is in a rear port on the PC, not a hub — or that the printer is on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC.

## Step 2: Clear the Print Queue Properly
Cancelling from the queue window often fails because the spooler itself is stuck.

1. Right-click **Start** → **Terminal (Admin)**.
2. Stop the spooler:
   ```
   net stop spooler
   ```
3. Delete the queued jobs:
   ```
   del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
   ```
4. Start it again:
   ```
   net start spooler
   ```
5. Try printing a test page.

## Step 3: Make Sure the Spooler Service Stays Running
1. Press **Windows + R**, type `services.msc`, press Enter.
2. Find **Print Spooler**.
3. Right-click → **Properties**, set **Startup type** to **Automatic**, click **Start** if stopped.
4. On the **Recovery** tab, set **First failure**, **Second failure**, and **Subsequent failures** all to **Restart the Service**.
5. Click **OK**.
6. A spooler that keeps stopping on its own is usually being crashed by a bad driver — Step 5.

## Step 4: Confirm the Right Printer Is Selected
Windows silently redirects jobs more often than people expect.

1. Open **Settings** → **Bluetooth & devices** → **Printers & scanners**.
2. Turn **off** **Let Windows manage my default printer**.
3. Click your printer → **Set as default**.
4. Delete any duplicate entries such as **HP LaserJet (Copy 1)** — those are stale and jobs sent to them go nowhere.
5. Check nothing is queued to **Microsoft Print to PDF** or **Fax** by mistake.
6. In the printer's queue window, open the **Printer** menu and untick **Pause Printing** and **Use Printer Offline**.

## Step 5: Reinstall the Driver Cleanly
A partially installed or generic driver is the second big cause.

1. **Settings** → **Bluetooth & devices** → **Printers & scanners** → click the printer → **Remove**.
2. Press **Windows + R**, type `printmanagement.msc`, press Enter.
3. Go to **All Drivers**, right-click the entry for your printer → **Delete driver package**.
4. If it refuses, stop the spooler first (`net stop spooler`), delete, then start it again.
5. Download the **full driver package** for your exact model from HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, or Xerox directly — not a driver-updater tool.
6. Reboot, then install the package and let it detect the printer.
7. General method: [how to update outdated drivers](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-update-outdated-drivers/).

## Step 6: Run the Printer Troubleshooter
1. **Settings** → **System** → **Troubleshoot** → **Other troubleshooters**.
2. Run **Printer** and apply what it offers.
3. Also try the hardware troubleshooter — **Windows + R**:
   ```
   msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
   ```
4. Vendor tools such as **HP Print and Scan Doctor** are genuinely useful for that brand.

## Step 7: Fix a Network Printer That Stops Responding
1. Give the printer a **fixed IP address** through a DHCP reservation in the router, so it does not move and break the port.
2. In **Terminal**, confirm the PC can reach it:
   ```
   ping 192.168.1.50
   ```
   using the address shown on the printer's panel.
3. If ping works but printing does not, re-add it by address: **Printers & scanners** → **Add device** → **Add manually** → **Add a printer using an IP address or hostname** → **TCP/IP Device**.
4. Set the network profile to **Private**: **Settings** → **Network & internet** → your connection → **Network profile type**. Discovery is blocked on Public.
5. In `services.msc`, start **Function Discovery Provider Host**, **Function Discovery Resource Publication**, and **SSDP Discovery**.
6. Related: [share files between Windows PCs on the same network](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/share-files-between-windows-pcs-same-network/) and [secure your home Wi-Fi router](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/secure-your-home-wifi-router/).

## Step 8: Check the Firewall and Security Software
1. **Windows Security** → **Firewall & network protection** → **Allow an app through firewall** → **Change settings**, and confirm the printer software is ticked for **Private**.
2. Pause a third-party security suite briefly and retest. If that fixes it, add an exclusion rather than leaving it off.
3. Detailed procedure: [fix Windows Firewall blocking apps](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-windows-firewall-blocking-apps-windows-11/).

## Step 9: Fix Blank or Faded Pages
If pages come out but are empty, this is hardware.

1. Check the cartridges are seated and that the **protective tape or strip has been removed** from new ones.
2. Run the printer's own **cleaning** or **nozzle check** cycle from its menu — twice if needed, then leave it an hour and repeat.
3. On a laser printer, remove the toner cartridge, rock it gently side to side, and refit it.
4. Print from a different application to rule out one program's settings — and check the document is not set to print in white or with **Draft** quality.
5. Third-party cartridges frequently fail chip checks after a firmware update; test with a genuine one if you have it.

## Step 10: Roll Back a Bad Windows Update
1. If printing broke immediately after an update: **Settings** → **Windows Update** → **Update history** → **Uninstall updates**, and remove the most recent quality update.
2. Reboot and test.
3. Full procedure: [fix Windows 11 after a bad update](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-windows-11-after-bad-update-rollback/).
4. Repair system files while you are here — **Terminal (Admin)**:
   ```
   sfc /scannow
   ```
   ```
   DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   ```
   Details: [how to run SFC and DISM](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-run-sfc-dism-repair-windows-11/).

## What Not to Do
* **Don't keep resending the job.** Every retry adds another stuck entry to the queue; clear it first.
* **Don't install a driver-updater utility** to find a printer driver — the vendor's own site has it, and that category of tool is a common adware carrier: [avoid malware in fake downloads](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/avoid-malware-fake-downloads/).
* **Don't disable the Print Spooler service** permanently. Nothing prints without it.
* **Don't run a cleaning cycle ten times in a row.** It wastes a large amount of ink; space them out.

## Still Not Working?
Print the printer's self-test from its own panel, then try printing from a phone over the same network. If the self-test works and the phone prints but the PC does not, the fault is squarely in Windows — remove every printer entry and driver package as in Step 5 and start clean.

If the printer fails its own self-test, the issue is hardware and no amount of driver work will help.

Related: [fix USB device not recognized](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-usb-device-not-recognized-windows-11/) and [fix a scanner not working](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-scanner-not-working-windows-11/).

---
Source: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-printer-not-printing-windows-11/ — My Technician, free Windows 10/11 troubleshooting guides.
Related tool: PC-Troubleshooter (PC-Troubleshooter is a system diagnostic and repair tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11—hardware, drivers, network, and common fixes in one app.) — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/windows-troubleshooter/
More guides: https://www.mytechnician.tech/llms.txt